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Stephen Miller Had Editorial Sway at Breitbart News: Emails

In one email exchange, Miller told editors to publish a press release he wrote with a Breitbart News byline.

White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller worked closely with Breitbart News and had sway over the site’s coverage, emails obtained by the Southern Poverty Law Center indicate. According to The Washington Post, former Breitbart editor Katie McHugh—who turned over the emails to the SPLC—claimed Miller was able to dictate the website’s editorial direction and said no one ever questioned whether his involvement was “ethical.”

When Miller was an aide to then-Sen. Jeff Sessions in October 2015, he told former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, McHugh and other editors to publish a press released penned by him with a “Breitbart News” byline. The release, which included projections that immigration would outpace native population growth, was published as an “exclusive” the following day. Miller also took on editor duties, suggesting language changes in certain articles and pushing the outlet to bash the presidential campaign of Sen. Marco Rubio—who helped create immigration-reform legislation that Miller reportedly opposed.

Breitbart spokeswoman Elizabeth Moore told the SPLC that it wasn’t a “newsflash” that political aides pitched stories to journalists. “Sometimes those pitches are successful, sometimes not,” Moore said.